THE 'KING OF STEEL': Billionaire Non-Resident India Lakshmi N Mittal – who is now the proud owner of the world's most expensive house – has been dubbed the King of Steel. His steel empire – The LNM Group – is racing ahead at lightning speed compared to its lumbering rivals in the world of steel.

The 51-year-old steel magnate is the founder and Chairman of The LNM Group, the world's second largest steel producer with annual net sales of over $9 billion and a steelmaking capacity of 35 million tonnes.

The LNM Group has over 110,000 employees at its steelmaking operations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Trinidad, Germany, France, Kazakhstan, Algeria, Romania, Poland, and Indonesia.

He started his career in the family's steelmaking business in India, and has 30 years of experience working in the steel and related industries. He began working in his father's steel mill in India as a teenager. In 1975, at age 25, he left for Indonesia, and in 1976, he set up Ispat Indo.

He is an active philanthropist and a member of various trusts. He was born in Sadulpur, Rajasthan, in India and graduated from St. Xavier's College in Kolkata where he received a Bachelor of Commerce degree. He lives in London, with his wife Usha, son Aditya, and daughter Vanisha.

Workers clean the floors next to the hot rolling mill at the Sendzimir steel plant in Nowa Huta, Poland, on April 15, 2004. Indian steel conglomerate LNM Holding recently purchased the Sendzimir plant and three other Polish steel mills. Poland is scheduled to join the European Union on May 1.Photo: Sean Gallup/ Getty Images